In tiny Colorado schoolhouse, students put technology aside and love learning
It's a small wood building, painted white, sitting in a grassy field. Big enough to hold young minds, which is a task.
"I think I like it more," said Emily Hawley, an 11-year-old headed into the 6th grade, who bears maybe a little resemblance to the TV portrayal of Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie.
She's been coming in the summers since 1st grade. Her brother and cousin ride with her from her grandmother's house in Evergreen where they spend some of their time after regular school lets out.
Her brother is now old enough to be a classroom helper. Their grandmother packs their lunches in baskets. It's fun and even nutritionally different from living in the past.
"They couldn't take Cheetos today because Cheetos weren't until 1948," said grandmother Sue Ashbaugh.
The Evergreen Mountain Area Historical Society offers the summer program each year at the Medlin School on South Turkey Creek Road in Morrison, up the road from Tiny Town.
The Medlin School was built in 1886 and restored to its original site.
"For children experiencing something, it's some they remember better than you just tell them. So, that's our whole point," said teacher Jo Ann Dunn.
The school program is set in the 1920s, mostly because it has electric lights, which it would not have had when it was originally constructed.
The kids when they arrive throw on clothing that takes them back to the 1920s then sit at their period desks and take out their slates, where they scratch and figure.
"I get a lot of chalk on my hands, but it isn't bad," says Glenn Vernon.
Ask Emily if she misses her phone and she gives a vigorous shake of her head, "No." They also get instruction in cursive writing, which Glenn likes to show off.
A lot of school one hundred years ago was different. "You do competitions," explained Emily. "You're doing different things and you're not actually learning… it's more historic than it was at normal school."
Outside they hand pump their water and chant together to make the bucket overflow.
The children play at recess in the rolling green grass. The only modern convenience they miss is the bathroom. At the schoolhouse, they have to march outside to use the pit toilet.
"It smells," says Emily. "There are a few too many cobwebs," says Glenn.
But both of the young people like it a lot.
The half day program is short and is now done for the year, but will be back next summer. A little schoolhouse where time stands still.
Asked if she would rather be at regular school or at the Medlin school in the fall, Emily said, "I'd say here."
